After finally taking the plunge and deciding to take a year off to travel around the world, we are documenting our trip as we go. From the initial planning stages to the trip home, this is our journey.

Monday, 24 October 2011

Packin' heat

I'm taking a little break from strangling my husband over our ever-changing itinerary to write a post that I've been looking forward to for months now. Well, to be honest, it's not the post itself that I've been excited about, it's the fact that clothes are involved.

Packing!!

Basically since we decided to do this trip, V and I have been obsessing over what to bring. We each have 60+10 liter bags (that's 70 liters for you Communications majors...) and while a 70L bag is considered big, we still have very limited space.

Now, while the hard-core, experienced backpackers will scoff at our massive, snail-like backpacks, the idea of fitting clothes for all events and climates during a year of travelling in a backpack of any size is daunting. V and I have spent hours upon hours discussing the best clothes, tecnical gear, packing techniques, etc. to minimize what we are bringing and maximize the space available to us. I'm not exaggerating (yes I am), we have agonized over a 50L bag vs. 70L bag, a sleeping bag vs. a sleep sheet, hiking boots vs. hiking shoes, daypack vs. no pack. I personally spent the better part of an afternoon looking for the perfect rubber sandal that I can wear both in the shower and in a nightclub. We each have painstakingly researched, searched for and chosen every item we are bringing.

So here it is (almost, I actually haven't yet purchased the holy grail of rubber sandals). Vincent hasn't done his test pack, so this post only covers my gear, but honestly, who cares what Vincent is bringing? :)

Behold- the bounty of my backpack:

That's it. FOR A YEAR. It looks like a lot, but I assure you, just the idea of clothing myself with these twenty-odd items for an entire year is enough to make me hyperventilate.

And now it's time for the break down- click on any picture to enlarge:

So there you have it. I did a test run and packed all of this in my bag, adding a 1-pound book to make up for missing items.

Grand total weight? 22pounds or 10kg with everything in the bag except my hiking shoes. Not bad, if I do say so. I've always been told that 10-12kg is really the weight limit if you expect to do any trekking with your bag. As we don't want to be limited in the amount of time we spend with our bags and want to be able to trek with them, we were shooting for less than 12kg. Mission accomplished, so far.

To give you an idea of what a mostly full 70L bag looks like, feast your eyes on this:

Now that your hotness quota has been filled for the day, back to packing.

As mentioned, I'm still in the process of purchasing the last few remaining items. I will be sure to document any massive changes, but hopefully this is what will actually leave with me. What will come back with me is another story. We have spent the last nine months planning what to bring, now watch our bags get stolen after a week. Right now, we are completely obsessed with the smallest, lightest, fastest-drying, but give it a few months and we'll be traipsing around Bolivia in wool ponchos.